Australian cops use Facebook to curb stalker
By IANSWednesday, October 20, 2010
MELBOURNE - Now the long arm of the law can reach you through the world wide web too. Australian police have shown the way by using Facebook to restrict a man from contacting his partner after he harassed her via the online social network.
The Victoria Police have served an intervention order via Facebook on a man who “threatened, bullied and harassed” a former partner.
The man used Facebook to intimidate the woman in August this year, two days after a previous intervention order expired. This led to a Victorian court issuing another ban on him contacting the woman, according to The Age.
But Senior Constable Stuart Walton said the man could not be found to serve the new order.
“He’d left his previous address, phone numbers weren’t any good, and we had no other associates (through which) we could contact him. So I applied with a magistrate to have the order served by Facebook … The order was deemed served,” he said.
Leading Senior Constable Walton then typed the court order and sent it as a message on the Facebook account the man had used to intimidate the woman. Walton also posted a video of himself reading out the order.
Despite the offender not confirming he had read the messages, police succeeded in contacting the man after the final order was served.
The man confirmed he had received the messages.
“We used the same methods to catch up with the offending person as he used to contact the victim in the first place,” Walton said.
“The victim is very happy with the concept because she’s got the protection of that order now.”
Police said the use of Facebook in this way was an Australian first which should be seen as a warning to cyber-bullies.
“Internet bullying, stalking and intimidation are taken very seriously by police. In this instance we were able to deliver justice through the same medium as the crime committed,” he said.
“(Social media) does present opportunities,” he said, adding, “If the need does arise in the future where it’s an investigation tool or we have the ability to use it, we’ll consider it.”
